Charming Charleston

We arrived in Charleston last Thursday evening and found our hotel in an outlying community of Avondale.  We found out later that this area is full of a variety of good eats, small shops, as well as a great coffee shop.  Steve wanted BBQ so we only traveled up the road a bit to Bessinger's BBQ.  A family owned restaurant for many years...it did not disappoint.  We enjoyed chicken, brisket, as well as pork and yummy sides.  Afterwards we took a drive around downtown Charleston, looking at restaurants, shops and older homes. 
On Friday we decided to head out to Boone Hall Plantation.  This plantation was used in the movies, "Queen", "The Notebook", as well as the TV Miniseries, "North and South".  We spent much of the morning exploring the grounds, touring the mansion, as well as the original slave quarters. The highlight of the visit was a performance of a Gullah woman who told us about the history of the plantation and of her ancestors journey from Africa to South Carolina.  For a half-hour she kept our attention with stories, songs, and poetry...absolutely amazing!!  Our ticket also included a buggy ride around the plantation. We quickly headed out to the only American Tea Plantation in America.   Thankfully we arrived just in time for a quick factory tour then headed out on a trolley to learn more about their tea production.  We were amazed to learn that 4 people run the whole operation from planting, harvesting, cleaning and packaging.  They are now owned by the Bigelow Tea company but they do not import any tea...using only tea from their plants here.  We learned so much about tea...and brought some home as well!  That night we took a clue from Guy Fierri and ate at the Early Bird Diner.  We have been so glad to have the Food Network App as well as Yelp on this trip!